After our last interview, a guy contacted me to say that he’d like to shed light on his time as a student drug dealer. He likes to go by the name of Albert Badgersmith, which we assume is not his real name.

What did you deal in?

Cannabis, MDMA, speed, cocaine, pills, ketamine, mushrooms.

Where did you ‘work’ from?

Mainly from a house, but also in clubs and by delivery.

When did you start dealing?

I started dealing cannabis in my early teens, moving on to deal cocaine, speed, mushrooms and pills at around 16. When at university I dealt a large quantity of MDMA, also selling some cocaine, pills and the occasional amount of ketamine.

Why did you carry on dealing at university?

Student loans and the party lifestyle made for a huge demand for drugs from a valued source.

What are your thoughts on dealing to students?

Students have been markedly more pleasant to deal with than people prior to university and outside of the area where I have dealt to students at university. Students are more naive, which on occasion has been an opportunity to take advantage for a significant increase in profit (particularly true in clubs). This does not present anywhere near the risk as outside a student environment, as the chance of repercussion in such a situation is virtually non-existent. Any friends, anyone who I have dealt to regularly or any I have met through an acquaintance have always received the deal that they should expect. In dealing with students I have found that this ethos has provided a good standard of references for future sales. Students, through their inexperience, have sometimes been prone to try and negotiate a better offer more so than those who have been more experienced in buying drugs. This surprised me at first, however I soon realised it was purely due to them expecting something that others are accustomed to being refused.

How much money were you making from it?

I have bought in bulk in irregular patterns. I have made over £1500 in a week from selling MDMA. This is not a common, however, and the amount of money made has been very sporadic. Usually when I have had drugs to sell, the figure has been a few hundred per week. When selling cannabis, mushrooms and speed this figure was dramatically lower, with me usually making between £40 and £80 per week. When selling cocaine I am unsure of the exact figure as I was working on behalf of someone else. I am of the understanding that the figure was consistently over my highest weekly earnings at university.

Did you ever get into trouble for what you did?

I have not been in any trouble with the police with regard to dealing. I have been caught when living with my mother as a young teenager, which while terrifying, did not put me off the experience. I have had drugs go missing in the past, as well as small quantities of money. This has been both from places I have been living/dealing from and also in buying large quantities.

While at university I have not had to experience some of the more harrowing aspects which I experienced in the past. When selling cocaine I have had to deal with very far gone addicts who I have ranged from begging to violent. Some of the people coming in and out of the house at the time washed the cocaine into crack and were therefore particularly difficult to see and deal with. When buying large quantities of ketamine I have had to witness people at a very low point in addiction. Seeing people begging for ketamine when they’ve come out of hospital with a synthetic bladder as a result of overuse is not a pretty site; particularly when the people saying no and then giving in are all addicts and on it themselves. Some of the places I have had to go to, to pick up various loads, have been very frightening as have some of those I have purchased from.

Would you say the risk was worth it? Is it better than a regular student job?

I wish I had had a different job at university, as “drug dealer” is not employer-friendly on your C.V. Trying to explain what I have done for work for the last three years has proven a difficult task and involved a web of lies worthy of Ted Bundy. The risk is always high, however, and I have tried to remain careful about what I have done. The risk is certainly not worth pursuing it as a source of constant income, as the risk rises to an unacceptable level. Excluding the post-university difficulty I certainly found it worthwhile as opposed to a normal student job, due to the substantial amount of cash I made for doing very little.

Do you regard yourself as a dealer or not?

I have regarded myself as a dealer in the past, and should I choose to buy drugs for sale in the future, would consider myself such again.